2 . This fall, students at the University of Massachusetts found a new menu at their dining commons: the “diet for a cooler planet” menu. This meant herb-roasted lamb, raised with a carbon-friendly approach. It included sweet potatoes that had been picked from a local farm’s field post-harvest. The options were plant-heavy, locally grown, and involved little to no packaging.

“We wanted to let students participate in climate action by making choices about their food,” says Kathy Wicks, sustainability director for UMass Dining. The university is not alone in this effort. Increasingly, American consumers and institutions are thinking about how their food choices factor into climate change. For many, small choices at the grocery store, dining hall, and restaurant can feel more accessible than big-ticket options like buying a fuel-efficient car or installing home solar panels.

Small changes in dietary habits may make a big difference. Climate activists often target fossil fuels and transportation systems, but studies point to the food system as a significant contributor to global warming. According to Project Drawdown, a research organization that evaluates climate solutions, the way food is grown, transported, and consumed accounts for about a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Beef is a regular target. “If, on average, Americans cut a quarter pound of beef per week from their diet, it’s like taking 10million cars off the road a year,” says Sujatha Bergen, director of health campaigns for the Natural Resources Defense Council. Food waste ranks third among climate solutions. While much waste occurs before consumers are involved—food left on the field or “chucked” because it does not fit appearance standards, Americans also throw out a lot of food they have purchased: about $1, 600 worth a year per family of four.

“People are beginning to understand that their food choices make a big impact on climate,” says Megan Larmer, director of regional food at the Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming in New York. But, she cautions substantial change will need to come from the wholefood system.

Diaojiaolou is a traditional residence of several ethnic minorities in China such as the Miao, Zhuang, Buyi and Tujia people. You can find a group of these houses     1     (locate) beside a river or in the     2     (mountain) areas of Yunnan, Guangxi, Hunan and Sichuan. The history of Diaojiaolou     3     (stretch) back 1400 years.

The traditional residence, typically two to three stories high, is a wooden house built on stilts (柱子). The unusual structure is considered     4     masterpiece of clever carpentry. The high     5     (hang) floors of the structure are held up by wooden stilts, which give the house an unsteady appearance from afar. But a Diaojiaolou is, in fact, firmly fixed with its stilts further reinforced by stone blocks at     6     (they) bases. The ground floor tends    7     (use) as storage space for firewood and farming equipment. Livestock (牲畜) stay on the ground floor, while people always live     8     it.

These stilted buildings sheltered people from fierce beasts in ancient times. Nowadays they continue to provide protection from venomous snakes and insects     9     are not uncommon throughout China. These buildings also help prevent humidity-related diseases in southern China.     10     (additional), the cool breeze blowing through the windows of the upper levels acts like a kind of natural air conditioner.

5 . As a young girl growing up in France, Sarah Toumi dreamed of becoming a leader who could make the world a better place. Her passion to help others was awakened when, from the age of nine, she accompanied her Tunisian father to his birthplace in the east of the country during holidays. There she organized homework clubs and activities for children.

Toumi witnessed first-hand the destructive effect of desertification (沙漠化). “Within 10 years rich farmers became worse off, and in 10 years from now they will be poor. I wanted to stop the Sahara Desert in its tracks.” A decrease in average rainfall and an increase in the severity of droughts have led to an estimated 75 percent of Tunisia’s agricultural lands being threatened by desertification.

Toumi recognized that farming practices needed to change. She is confident that small land areas can bring large returns if farmers are able to adapt by planting sustainable crops, using new technologies for water treatment and focusing on natural products and fertilizers rather than chemicals.

In 2012, Toumi consolidated (巩固) her dream of fighting the desert. She moved to Tunisia, and set up a programme named Acacias for All to put her sustainable farming philosophy (理念) into action. “I want to show young people in rural areas that they can create opportunities where they are. Nobody is better able to understand the impact of desertification and climate change than somebody who is living with no access to water.”

By September 2016, more than 130, 000 acacia trees had been planted on 20 pilot farms, with farmers recording a 60 percent survival rate. Toumi estimates that some 3 million acacia trees are needed to protect Tunisia’s farmland. She expects to plant 1 million trees by 2018. In the next couple of years, Toumi hopes to extend the programme to Algeria and Morocco.

7 . UPS deliveryman Ryan Arens was making his rounds near a pond, when he heard a strange sound. It was December, and about 15 feet from the frozen bank was the _________ of that sound — a brown-and-white wire-haired hound（猎犬）had fallen through the thin layer of ice. An elderly man was already on the _________, determined to save her. He was trying to _________ the pond and was striking the ice with a rock to create a(n) _________ to the dog, but seemed to be struggling.

Arens, 44, thought he _________ a better chance. “Animals are my weakness,” he said, explaining _________ he chose to take off his overcoat, even though the temperature was minus 15 and _________ the rescue task.

After breaking the ice using the man’s rock, Arens jumped into the icy water. He surfaced in time to see the dog going under. Arens swam about five feet toward the dog, grabbed hold of her collar, and _________ her out of the water and onto the ice. He then put the dog into the boat and slid it back to the bank, where _________ bystanders carried the dog to the home of the rowboat’s owner, a retired vet. __________ in the house himself, Arens jumped into a warm shower with the dog. A few more minutes in the pond, the vet told Arens, and the dog would have likely __________.

The next day, Arens was again making his __________ in the neighborhood when the dog’s owner came __________ to thank him for saving Sadie. “Would you like to meet her?” he asked. Then he opened the door of his pickup, and Sadie jumped out. She went __________ toward Arens, leaping around him and kissing him. Arens said that special delivery was the __________ of his UPS career.

A new group of free employees have been added to a French workforce. So far,     1    theme park in western France    2    (employ) six birds, more exactly six crows, to collect and deal with garbage — mainly cigarette ends and other small pieces. The birds take the    3    (collect) trash to special bins where they can receive bird food in exchange    4    putting away the litter.

Park president Nicolas said, “The purpose of employing the crows is to educate people to take up their social responsibility. Since the birds are able to do    5    we are much more able to do than them, we should do this by ourselves.”

Crows have long been observed for their various amazing displays of     6    (intelligent). They are one of the    7    (smart) groups of animals on earth, with remarkable problem    8     (solve), tool making, and deductive (演绎) reasoning skills.

In addition to inspiring humans to pick up trash, the clever crows currently at the park are pretty excited     9    (put) their wisdom to work.

“It has become an exciting game for     10    (they),” Nicolas says. “They pick up the trash on the ground, and every day they are rewarded for what they have done.”